Milestones
by lookingforthestars
Summary: "It felt empty. Like it wasn't really happening if I couldn't share it with you."


**There was a plot thread that showed up in one episode and as far as I remember was never brought up again, and that always bugged me. So I used it as the basis for yet another fix-it fic because they're like Pringles; once you start, you can't stop.**

"Mom!"

Paige grinned as her son rushed toward her. She met him halfway for a hug, balancing her cap with one hand to keep it from falling as she bent down. Centipede was close behind him, waiting until Ralph stepped back to take their turns embracing and congratulating her.

Toby placed a hand on her arm, smiling warmly. "We're really proud of you, Paige."

"Thanks," she said, appreciative of his obvious sincerity. "Took me a while, but…"

"Better late than never," Sylvester interrupted, and she nodded. Just because they had all—or least, could have—graduated college at sixteen didn't diminish her hard work. "Is anyone else ready for dinner? Leaving within five minutes gives us the optimal chance of beating venue traffic."

Paige cleared her throat. "Um, yeah. I just need to go to the bathroom. I'll try to make it quick, okay?"

Her eyes locked with Toby's, and she could see his suspicion from a mile away. But he didn't say anything.

She wasn't sure how he knew. Maybe she was really that transparent. Or maybe he was feeling the loss too.

Paige shot her son a quick, reassuring smile before walking in the opposite direction of the team. She was about halfway around the concert hall when she found a place that was quiet enough and far away from the potentially prying eyes of Centipede. Hopefully, Toby would do her a solid and keep them all in place for a while.

 _Paige Dineen._

It was her dream to hear her name called from that stage. Despite everything she had accomplished—with Scorpion, with Elia, with Centipede—failing to earn her degree always felt like a loose thread. A goal that needed to be reached. Inevitably, something came up that interfered, something that took up all of her free time and focus and made her degree seem less important.

And then suddenly, she had more free time than she knew what to do with and a mind that desperately needed a distraction. Most of it went to launching Centipede, but when she couldn't stand to look at one more bureaucratic nightmare of a form, she switched to studying. When she couldn't read anymore, she ran or worked out her frustration on a hanging bag in the gym. Doing all the things that magazines said to do after a breakup, trying to make herself feel…better. Stronger. More worthy.

She'd waited so long to walk across that stage and accept her diploma. So long to see her family and friends look at her with pride on their faces. Having Ralph there, cheering her on, made her original decision to leave college and every sacrifice afterward seem incredibly worthwhile.

It was the perfect moment.

Almost.

Paige hesitated for a long second, smoothing her fingers over the screen before unlocking her phone with her thumb. Before she could talk herself out of it, she hit his name on the contact list, holding her breath as it started to ring.

With one hand, she fumbled with her cap, suddenly feeling very obvious and a little silly with it on. She nearly dropped it when she heard Walter say, "Hello?"

"Hey," she said, her voice lacking substance. "It's Paige."

"Yes. I know. Is something wrong with Ralph?"

Paige closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Sometimes she wished that she didn't know how much he loved her son. Sometimes she wished not to know that the only reason Ralph could cheer for her and hug her publicly was because Walter helped him understand how to. "Ralph is fine. I…" She swallowed, feeling like her words were somewhat anti-climactic after Walter had assumed the worst. "I graduated today."

There was a long silence on the other end. "Congratulations, Paige."

It was one of the biggest moments in her life, and it felt so empty. Ralph being proud of her should have been enough. Him being there should have been enough.

 _I'm proud of you._

Walter had been her biggest supporter when she went back to school. And maybe it was selfish to want that again, after everything. To want him in the audience, beaming and clapping alongside her son. She had no idea how badly she wanted that until she didn't have it.

The crowd was starting to thin out, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that Sylvester would be impatient about them leaving, but that couldn't be her main focus right now. "Do you, um…" Paige wet her lips with her tongue, ultimately leaving them even drier. "Do you remember what I said to you at the wedding?"

"I remember everything anyone says."

 _Don't be a smartass,_ she wanted to respond, but she held back. She was, after all, the one calling him out of the blue, asking him to revisit a pretty sensitive memory. "The part about me working for Elia. How everything good that happened felt hollow if I wasn't sharing it with you." The genius didn't respond, but Paige could practically hear his mind racing in the loaded silence. "That's still true, Walter. I know it's still true because I'm feeling it right now."

He sighed quietly. "You should be proud of your accomplishments, Paige. Whether or not I'm there."

It was so similar to the other things she'd said after he fired her. That all of Scorpion's cases mattered, even if she was somewhere else. But they both knew that even if they wanted it to be that simple, it never would be.

And if there was anything that could overcome her pride and anger, it was the nagging fear that anything she did for the rest of her life might feel this incomplete. "Are you proud of yours? With Scorpion 2.0?"

Another silence. "N-No. But I never expected to be."

Paige felt moisture well up in her eyes, and she blinked it back. It had only taken a few days for her to wonder if she should have heard him out. To regret all the awful things she said. But she convinced herself that with time, the guilt and the pain of missing him would fade.

It hadn't. Not even a little. "I'm sorry, Walter. I should have said that a long time ago, but…better late than never, I guess."

She heard his breath hitch before he cleared his throat. "Not as sorry as I am."

Paige tipped her head back against the wall, the weight in her chest seeming to dissipate almost instantly and allowing her to breathe again. "I have to go," she said reluctantly. "The team is going to start looking for me."

"Okay," he replied, sounding equally as grudging to let their conversation end. "I hope…you have a good night."

"I wish you could come," Paige admitted, surprised that she was still capable of such honesty when she'd spent so long keeping up her façade around him. But this felt better. This was better. "But…"

"I know. Perhaps I could…t-take you to dinner another time. To celebrate your graduation."

She pressed her lips together, a vain attempt to control her smile. "That sounds nice." Toby appeared in her peripheral vision, giving her a look and a hand gesture that meant he couldn't distract the team much longer. "I really have to go. I'll text you."

She ended the call, sliding the phone back into her bag. Paige walked back toward the group, plastering on a smile that didn't feel quite so fake this time. "Hey. Sorry I took so long."

"How do you feel, graduate?" the shrink asked, the layered meaning in his question only evident to the two of them.

Paige reached out, wrapping one arm around Ralph and pulling him close to her. "I feel great, actually."


End file.
